Conserved Genetic Basis of a Quantitative Plumage Trait Involved in Mate Choice

A key question in evolutionary genetics is whether shared genetic mechanisms underlie the independent evolution of similar phenotypes across phylogenetically divergent lineages. Here we show that in two classic examples of melanic plumage polymorphisms in birds, lesser snow geese ( Anser c. caerules...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Mundy, Nicholas I., Badcock, Nichola S., Hart, Tom, Scribner, Kim, Janssen, Kirstin, Nadeau, Nicola J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2004
Subjects:
Arctic
Stercorarius parasiticus
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1093834
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1093834
Description
Summary:A key question in evolutionary genetics is whether shared genetic mechanisms underlie the independent evolution of similar phenotypes across phylogenetically divergent lineages. Here we show that in two classic examples of melanic plumage polymorphisms in birds, lesser snow geese ( Anser c. caerulescens ) and arctic skuas ( Stercorarius parasiticus ), melanism is perfectly associated with variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor ( MC1R ) gene. In both species, the degree of melanism correlates with the number of copies of variant MC1R alleles. Phylogenetic reconstructions of variant MC1R alleles in geese and skuas show that melanism is a derived trait that evolved in the Pleistocene.

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